1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a storage system comprising a storage device and a storage container which can be loaded into the storage device, and in which the storage container has a bottom surface and contains at least one storage medium and has access means in the area of at least one container surface, the access means enabling the storage medium to be accessed, and in which the storage device comprises movable holder means constructed to hold a storage container, and comprises guide means constructed to guide the holder means so that the holder means can be guided between a loading position, in which the storage container can be loaded into the holder means, and an operating position, in which the storage container occupies an operating position, said guiding being effected along an inclined guide path in such a manner that the holder means is movable out of the loading position in a first direction of movement, and into the operating position in a second direction of movement which extends transversely to the first direction of movement, and comprises storage processing means which serves to process the storage medium contained in the storage container and which is in operative engagement with the storage medium via the access means of the storage container after the movement of the holder means in the second direction of movement into the operating position.
The invention further relates to a storage device into which a storage container can be loaded, the storage container having a bottom surface and contains at least one storage medium and has access means in the area of at least one container surface, the access means enabling the storage medium to be accessed, the storage device comprising movable holder means constructed to hold a storage container, and which comprises guide means which are constructed to guide the holder means so that the holder means can be guided between a loading position, in which the storage container, can be loaded into the holder means, and an operating position, in which the storage container occupies an operating position, said guiding being effected along an inclined guide path in such a manner that the holder means is movable out of the loading position in a first direction of movement, and into the operating position in a second direction of movement which extends transversely to the first direction of movement, and storage processing means which serves to process the storage medium contained in the storage container and which is in operative engagement with the storage medium via the access means of the storage container after the movement of the holder means in the second direction of movement into the operating position.
The invention further relates to a storage container having a bottom surface and containing at least one storage medium and having access means in the area of at least one container surface, the access means enabling the storage medium to be accessed, the storage containers being loadable into a storage device, which comprises movable holder means constructed to hold a storage container, and guide means constructed to guide the holder means so that the holder means can be guided between a loading position, in which the storage container can be loaded into the holder means, and an operating position, in which the storage container occupies an operating position, said guiding being effected along an inclined guide path in such a manner that the holder means is movable out of the loading position in a first direction of movement, and into the operating position in a second direction of movement which extends transversely to the first direction of movement, and storage processing means which serves to process the storage medium contained in the storage container and which is in operative engagement with the storage medium via the access means of the storage container after the movement of the holder means in the second direction of movement into the operating position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a storage system of the type defined in the first paragraph and such a storage device of the type defined in the second paragraph, as well as such storage container of the type defined in the third paragraph, are known, for example, from the International Patent Application WO 98/44499 A1, and corresponding U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/054,109, filed Apr. 2, 1998. In the solution known from said patent document, the storage container is formed by a cassette, namely, a magnetic-tape cassette in which the storage medium is a magnetic tape wound onto a rotationally drivable supply reel accommodated in the cassette. According to the known solution, the storage processing means is formed by a reel drive device, which, in a manner known per se, comprises a rotationally drivable reel disc having tooth-like drive means which can be brought into operative engagement, i.e., in driving engagement, with tooth-like counter means and which is in driving engagement when the cassette is in its operating position. According to the known solution, the supply reel in the cassette and the device-mounted reel drive device enter into operative engagement, i.e., into driving engagement, when the holder means, which contain the cassette, is moved in the second direction of movement, but the correct mutual positioning of the supply reel and the reel drive device depends strongly on the instantaneous position of the cassette in the holder means and, consequently, on the instantaneous relative position of the supply reel of the cassette with respect to the reel drive device. This may lead to an inexact mutual positioning of the supply reel and the reel drive device, and to a delayed engagement of the supply reel and the reel drive device, but this is undesirable and, in the worst case, may lead to problems when driving of the supply reel begins.
It is an object of the invention to preclude the afore-mentioned problems and to provide an improved storage system of the type defined in the first paragraph, and an improved storage device of the type defined in the second paragraph, as well as an improved storage container of the type defined in the third paragraph, using simple means, in which care has been taken that the operative engagement between the device-mounted storage processing means and the storage medium in the container always proceeds in an exact and trouble-free manner.
According to the invention, in order to achieve this object, a storage system of the type defined in the first paragraph, is characterized in that the storage container includes container-mounted positioning means, and the storage device includes device-mounted positioning means, and the container-mounted positioning means and the device-mounted positioning means are constructed to cooperate with each other and to position the storage container with respect to the storage processing means in directions which extend parallel to the bottom surface of the storage container, and the container-mounted positioning means and the device-mounted positioning means are constructed and arranged in such a manner that during the movement of the holder means from the loading position into the operating position, the storage container can be positioned already at the end of the movement in the first direction of movement and during the subsequent movement in the second direction of movement with the aid of the positioning means which cooperate with each other, before the holder means has reached the operating position and before the storage processing means enters into operative engagement with the storage medium in the storage container.
According to the invention, in order to achieve the aforementioned object, a storage device of the type defined in the second paragraph is characterized in that the storage container includes container-mounted positioning means, and the storage device includes device-mounted positioning means and the container-mounted positioning means and the device-mounted positioning means are constructed to cooperate with each other and to position the storage container with respect to the storage processing means in directions which extend parallel to the bottom surface of the storage container, and the container-mounted positioning means and the device-mounted positioning means are constructed and arranged in such a manner that during the movement of the holder means from the loading position into the operating position, the storage container can be positioned already at the end of the movement in the first direction of movement and during the subsequent movement in the second direction of movement with the aid of the positioning means which cooperate with each other, before the holder means has reached the operating position and before the storage processing means enters into operative engagement with the storage medium in the storage container.
According to the invention, in order to achieve the aforementioned object, a storage container of the type defined in the third paragraph is characterized in that the storage container includes container-mounted positioning means and the container-mounted positioning means is constructed to position the storage container with respect to the device-mounted storage processing means in directions which extend parallel to the bottom surface of the storage container, and the container-mounted positioning means is constructed and arranged in such a manner that during a movement of the holder means, which contain the storage container, from the loading position into the operating position, the storage container can be positioned already at the end of the movement in the first direction of movement and during the subsequent movement in the second direction of movement with the aid of the cassette-mounted positioning means which cooperates with the device-mounted positioning means before the device-mounted storage processing means enters into operative engagement with the storage medium in the storage container.
By taking the measures in accordance with the invention, it is achieved, by particularly simple means, that a storage container, present in the holder means of a storage device in accordance with the invention is positioned exactly and accurately already at the end of the movement of the holder means in the first direction of movement and uninterruptedly also during the subsequent movement of the holder means in the second direction of movement with the aid of the container-mounted positioning means and the device-mounted positioning means, as a result of which, the storage container, in accordance with the invention, occupies a well-defined position with respect to the storage processing means of the storage device in accordance with the invention, which ensures that an exact operative engagement between the storage processing means and the storage medium in the storage container is obtained already when the storage container reaches the operating position.
A storage system in accordance with the invention may be formed by, for example, a write/read system for contact-bound chip cards, in which case, the storage device is formed by a write/read station and the storage container is formed by a chip card, while the storage medium is formed by an integrated circuit embedded in the chip card, the device-mounted storage processing means being formed by contact pins which can be brought into operative engagement, i.e., contact engagement; with contact pads of the card, the contact pads forming access means. It has proven to be particularly favorable when a storage system, in accordance with the invention, that includes a recording and/or reproducing device as storage device and a cassette which can e loaded into the recording and/or reproducing device as a storage container. Such a storage system may comprise, for example, a storage container which contains a rotationally drivable hard disk as storage medium, and it may comprise a storage device in the form of a recording and reproducing device for rotationally driving and scanning the hard disk. These measures have proven to be particularly advantageous in a recording and reproducing system in which the record carrier in the cassette is a magnetic tape wound onto at least one reel.
In a storage system in accordance with the invention in which the storage container is a cassette, the cassette-mounted positioning means may be arranged, for example, in the area of the two further side walls, i.e., the left-hand side wall and the right-hand side wall, and may be formed, for example, by a positioning recess which is open towards one of these two side walls. Furthermore, the container-mounted positioning means may be positioning walls which extend in the area of the two further side walls and parallel to the front side wall, the positioning walls being formed in that the two further side walls are stepped. However, it has proven to be particularly advantageous if the container-mounted positioning means is arranged in the area of the front side wall of the cassette. In this respect, it has proven to be particularly advantageous that the cassette-mounted positioning means comprises a first positioning location and a second positioning location which is spaced at a distance from the first positioning location, and the first positioning location has two positioning walls which project from the front side wall towards the cassette interior, the two positioning walls being inclined towards one another and bound a wedge-shaped recess, the recess bounded by the two positioning walls being open towards the bottom wall, and the second positioning location being defined by a positioning portion of the front side wall of the cassette, and that the recess bounded by the two positioning walls ahs a bounding wall extending substantially parallel to the upper wall and to the bottom wall of the cassette, and being situated at a given distance form the upper wall of the cassette.
In a storage system in accordance with the invention having a storage container in the form of a cassette, it has proven to be advantageous if the holder means includes locking means for locking the cassette in the holder means, and the container-mounted positioning means can thus be held in operative engagement with the device-mounted positioning means. The locking means may, for example; be constituted by blade springs which act on the upper wall of a cassette, in which case the cassette is locked by friction. However, it has proven to be advantageous if that locking means is connected to the cassette holder and can engage and thereby lock the cassette, present in the cassette holder, in the area of at least on elocking wall which extends substantailly parallel to the front side wall and is spaced at a distance from the front side wall, that the locking means comprises at least a one locking lever which is pivotably mounted on the cassette holder, and the storage system comprises spring means for urging the locking levers towards a locking position of the locking lever, and that the locking wall is formed by a bounding wall of a locking recess which is open towards the bottom wall of the cassette.
The container-mounted positioning means and the device-mounted positioning means may, at the same time, be used for the final positioning of the cassette in its operating position. However, tests have shown that it is particularly advantageous not to use the container-mounted positioning means and the device-mounted positioning means for the final positioning of the cassette, but to use separate final positioning means.
The above-mentioned as well as further aspects of the invention will become apparent from the embodiments described hereinafter by way of example and will be elucidated with reference to these examples.